The Devil You Know (18 page)

The
hospital worker who had brought Tom and Marie this far indicated a green
telephone on the wall beside the door. He told Marie that she should pick it up
and inform the operator when she and Tom were ready to leave so someone could
escort them to the main building again. Before their guide had begun talking
about the phone, though, Marie had spotted Elise sitting alone at a table. Now
she merely nodded at their guide, staring at her friend across the room.

Marie
had to suppress a shudder as she and Tom approached Elise, heir footsteps
echoing on the tile floor. She looked no better than when Marie had seen her
last; worse actually. Her long, red hair was pulled back in a ragged ponytail,
and she wore no make-up. She stared at the tabletop before her, her hands in
her lap. Marie gave Tom a long look, hoping she could silently convey to him
just how bad Elise appeared.

Nevertheless,
she pulled out the chair beside Elise and sat down. She tentatively took one of
her friend’s hands from her lap and held it, then said quietly, “Elise,
sweetie, it’s Marie.” Elise gave no response. She did not even blink when Marie
spoke. Now Marie took both of Elise’s hands and pulled them toward her,
thankful after a moment when Elise shifted her shoulders to face her. Still,
she knew the movement had been more of an automatic response to having her
hands and forearms redirected rather than a sign that Elise recognized Marie
was here. Even so, she continued talking and hoped that on some level Elise
would know she was there.

“If
you can squeeze my hands for me, Elise, just a little squeeze. Even a finger.
Or maybe blink for me? Okay. Not now, but maybe later.” She smiled grimly, her
lips tight. “I brought a friend of mine along to visit you. His name’s Tom.
See. He’s right here next to me.”

“Hi,
Elise,” Tom said quietly, leaning forward beside Marie’s shoulder.

Marie
was grateful he had come along. Seeing Elise this way would have been much more
difficult had she been by herself. She turned her head toward Tom and gave him
an appreciative nod. Then she turned back to Elise and said, “I hope they’re
treating you all right, sweetie. I need you to get better and come home so we
can go to a nice fancy dinner, okay? Gosh, we’ll celebrate. You’ll see.”

The
thought of such a celebration, coupled with the slim chance that it would
actually happen, made Marie begin to tear up, and she let go of Elise’s hands
and sighed. The other woman’s hands stayed where they had fallen.

Tom
whispered, “Maybe we should go.”

“Maybe,”
Marie said, but she did not move. A few seconds later, she reached for Elise’s
hand again and silently sat there holding it. Tom reached for Marie’s free
hand, and they stayed that way for several minutes.

A
nurse circulated unobtrusively around the room, answering family members’
questions when they had any, or helping with the patients when it was needed. She
wore a crisp, white uniform and had kind, little eyes in a wrinkled face. As
she neared Marie, Tom and Elise, she stopped and gave Marie a knowing,
sympathetic smile. “Your sister?” she asked quietly.

A
bit startled, Marie said, “No. A friend.” She let go of Tom’s hand and wiped
tears from her eyes. “Do you know anything about how she’s doing?”

“Not
really,” the nurse said. “Just that there’s not been any change since she’s
been here.”

“Would
it be possible to talk to one of her doctors?”

“Not
unless you’re family. And certainly not on a Sunday. Do you know if she has
family?”

Marie
shook her head. “Her mother’s in Nebraska. I spoke to her when Elise was
admitted, but she didn’t know when she’d be able to come out to see her. Maybe
I should call her again.”

The
nurse nodded. “Perhaps you should. Just between us…” She dropped her voice to a
whisper and bent down at the waist so she could lean in close to Tom and Marie.
“The doctors are baffled. They haven’t really made a diagnosis.”

Marie
looked surprised. “Really? When I had her at the hospital in Los Angeles, they
thought it might be some sort of sudden psychosis.”

The
nurse shook her head. “She’s not psychotic, dear. Close to catatonic, but still
mildly responsive. Quite frankly, the question of its being so widespread is
what’s troubling the doctors most. They’re afraid it’s some new sort of
disease.”

“What
do you mean by ‘widespread’?”

The
nurse gave a nervous smile and moved to step away. “Perhaps I’ve said too much
already. You’ll have to excuse me.”

“No,
wait! Please,” Marie implored.

“Please,”
Tom echoed.

“If
there’s anything else you can tell us,” Marie said.

The
nurse looked at the floor for a moment and then bent close again. “There’ve
been three more come in just like her this week,” she whispered, tipping her
head in Elise’s direction and adding, “Such a shame. All so young and pretty.”

Marie
and Tom exchanged glances. Then Marie said, “You’re telling me all the victims
are young and attractive?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And
all women?”

The
nurse made no response.

“All
from the Los Angeles area?” Tom asked.

“I
couldn’t say.” The nurse straightened up again, ready to leave.

Marie
could sense she would not be dissuaded this time. “One more thing,” she said.
“Do you know if they’re all single?”

Now
the nurse’s kindly expression turned to one of bemusement as she thought about
the question. “You know, I can’t say for sure since I don’t work directly in
that ward. But, now that you mention it, I can’t say that I’ve seen a single
husband or even boyfriend come to visit. The only men who come are fathers and
brothers. Now, isn’t that strange?”

After
the nurse left them, Marie leaned over to embrace Elise, squeezing her tightly
around the shoulders and then kissing her cheek. “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” she
said. “I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back. Maybe we’ll be able to get you out
of here.” The urge to cry had passed; consumed by anger, she stood up and
walked toward the exit with Tom at her side. They held hands, their fingers
interlocked tightly, as though neither had any intention of letting go.

* * * * * * * *

On
the way back down the Coast Highway, they stopped at a little roadside
hamburger stand between Point Magu and Malibu. It was only four o’clock, but
Marie—her mind whirling—suggested getting something to eat, and Tom
agreed. They had talked for a while after leaving Camarillo, mostly about Elise
and the revelation they had found in the nurse’s comments. But by the time they
had reached the coast road, Marie had grown quiet, thinking over and over about
the things Jasper had told her about the incubi and the ways they could be
destroyed. She did not know the best course to take, but was determined that
the damage the demons were doing had to come to an end, and if it was possible
for her to be the one to bring it about, she was ready.

Now,
holding two Cokes while Tom carried two cheeseburgers in a little cardboard
box, Marie felt a sense of relief. It was as though she had been clenching her
jaw for the last half hour and had just realized she could relax it. They sat
at a picnic table near the parking lot. The sea air and the blue ocean across
the highway made her feel at ease, and during the few moments when no cars
approached from the north or south, the sound of the breaking waves carried
across the road. The breakers’ dull roar added to her growing sense of calm.

They
sat side by side on the bench, the ocean before them. “You doing all right?”
Tom asked her before picking up his burger.

“I
am now,” she said. “I needed to stop and just take a deep breath.”

He
nodded. “I know what you mean. Being in there…”

She
turned to him. “It was hard for you?”

“A
little. The place I started out in wasn’t nearly as nice as that. And your
friend…There were days when I was as bad as that, I think.”

“What
helped you?”

He
shrugged. “Just time, I think. Enough days without anyone really trying to kill
me. And doctors who knew what the problem was. Gramps helped, too. I’ve been
almost a year with him now. At first, there wasn’t much he could do with me.”

“I’m
glad he was there for you,” Marie said with a smile. Then she added, “You know,
I think I need him, too, now. This thing…that Elise is going through. And those
other women. It has to be stopped.”

Tom
sipped his Coke before answering. “Just how are you planning on stopping them?”

“I
don’t know yet. Jasper’ll be able to tell me what’s best. But I won’t be able
to do it alone, no matter what the plan is. Do you think he’ll be up for it? He
doesn’t strike me as frail at all, but I just don’t know.”

“Gramps
isn’t frail. But maybe things would go better if I help you instead.”

Marie
looked at him now, a bit surprised. “Why you?”

Tom
shrugged. “I owe Gramps,” he said as though it should have been obvious to her.
Then he added, “And I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

His
words warmed her, and she smiled at him. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Tom.
I’ll be damned if I’m going to let them do to me what they did to Elise. And
beyond that little trick of theirs that lets them look any way they want, they
really don’t have any power.”

“That
may be. But Piedmont’s boys…they can still do some damage. I’ll bet they’re not
above carrying guns, and using them if Piedmont says they should.”

“I
hadn’t thought of that.”

“Well,”
Tom said with a smile, “that’s why you’ll want me around.”

She
searched his eyes for a moment. “Would that be…good for you? I mean, what with
your…”

“Condition?”
he asked with a self-effacing grin. “Is that a delicate enough way of putting
it?”

She
smiled back at him a bit uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. It’s just that so many
people have been hurt in this. I’d hate myself if you got pulled down by this
after you’ve done so well up to now.”

He
shrugged and then nodded. “I’m doing all right, I suppose. But sometimes…” He
raised his eyebrows, as though there was nothing more to say. “I think maybe it
might do me some good to have an actual enemy in front of me, not just in my
memory, not feeling like there’s an enemy when there’s not.” He paused. “Maybe
I need a gun in my hand again.”

Marie
reached out for his hand and squeezed it. “Maybe,” she whispered. “But maybe
not, too. You know?”

He
squeezed back. “Yeah.”

After
they were finished eating, they crossed the highway to look at the waves. As
the sun began dipping toward the horizon, the ocean breeze grew chilly, and Tom
put his arm around her. They found a spot near the high tide mark, and Tom took
off his jacket for them to sit on, his arm still around her. It felt good to
have him hold her, sitting here, feeling close to him and watching the spread
of red and orange and pink across the scattered clouds as the sun started
sinking below the horizon.

When
there was only a sliver of the sun still visible, she turned to Tom and said,
“If we just had your guitar with us, this would be perfect.”

He
smiled. “Broken string and all?” he asked.

“Broken
string and all,” she said. Then she leaned in and kissed him. With one arm
still around her shoulders, he moved his other hand to caress her cheek. The
kiss made her tingle, and when he touched her, the feeling only intensified.
When they finally pulled away, the sun had disappeared, but the sky remained a
brilliant show of colors. Marie hardly noticed, looking into Tom’s eyes
instead.

So
happy now that she could barely keep from giggling, she said, “So could you say
this is our first date?”

He
smiled broadly. “I guess so. Quite memorable, I think.”

“You
know, I could get used to this,” she said, also with a smile. She kissed him
lightly again.

“I
know,” he murmured. “I could get used to this, too.”

“What
are we going to do about it?”

“I
don’t know.”

When
he kissed her again, he drew her to him with both arms around her back. She
closed her eyes and returned his embrace; one hand moved up into his hair while
the other remained around his broad back. As she let herself be laid back on
the sand, she felt all but consumed by her desire for him, no longer having to
forcibly put out of her mind the unpleasantness of Camarillo and what awaited
her in Hollywood. Instead, she thought only of Tom, the strength of his arms,
the weight of his chest on hers. In her mind’s eye, she saw how wickedly good
it would be to turn him over and straddle him, to open his fly and pull her
panties off; no one would ever need to know. And in the instant that she thought
it, she remembered the temptation she had felt at Julian’s party and how the
very same thought about no one ever knowing had entered her mind, had almost
taken hold of her. If it had, she would have been keeping Elise company in the
hospital.

A
bit frightened, she pushed Tom’s shoulder away, and he withdrew his lips and
half lifted himself off of her. He looked at her with a mix of concern and
confusion. “What’s wrong?” he whispered, the sound barely audible above the
nearby waves.